Karen's Pen Pal Read online

The gym became very quiet. Nobody made a sound. Then everyone ran toward us. Somebody called, “Are you all right?”

  I looked over at Maxie. She was looking over at me. We smiled at each other. And I realized something else. Maxie had never been in any movie. Just like I had never lived in any castle and had never written any book. Maxie’s father had never been a rock star, and her class pet probably was not a cat.

  I began to giggle and so did Maxie.

  When Ms. Colman reached us, she saw that we were laughing. “I guess you two are okay,” she said. “But why don’t you sit down for awhile? I think you need to rest. While you rest, your teammates will run the relay race over again.”

  “Come on, Maxie,” I said to my pen pal. I led her to the side of the gym. We sat on the floor and leaned against the wall.

  “I’m sorry I lied to you,” said Maxie.

  “I’m sorry I lied to you, too.”

  “I just wanted to be your friend. I wanted to be someone you would like.”

  “Same here.”

  Maxie and I sat together. We watched the relay race.

  Miss Mandel’s team won. They were the champions of the Sports Celebration.

  I did not care. I was just glad that Maxie was not a meanie after all.

  Karen’s Pen Pal

  When we had finished celebrating sports, it was time to show our pen pals around the cafeteria. We were going to eat lunch together.

  Maxie and I walked into the cafeteria with our classes. We held hands so everybody would know we were pen pals.

  “Do you have a cafeteria like this at your school?” I asked.

  Maxie nodded. “Pretty much. I do not think it is this big, though.”

  “Well,” I said, “you can bring your lunch or you can buy it.”

  “What do you usually do?”

  “Buy it,” I replied. “Unless it is too gross. Today the lunch is tunafish platter. That means tuna salad and carrot sticks and a hard-boiled egg.”

  Maxie and I each bought a platter. Then we sat with our friends. But mostly we talked to each other.

  “I guess your father was never a rock star, was he, Maxie?”

  “No.”

  “Is he a doctor?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “A real doctor?”

  “Yup. He is a baby doctor. He delivers babies.”

  “Cool,” I said. “Well, I guess you know I never lived in a castle.”

  “Yes, but that is okay.”

  “My father’s house is very big, though. It is a mansion. But it is not a castle.”

  “Your father’s house is really a mansion?”

  “Yup,” I said. “And Mommy’s house is small. That is why I call my houses the big house and the little house. Mostly I live in the little house.”

  “Oh. Our apartment is big. But it is not as big as I said. And it is not big enough for all those pets I wrote to you about. We have one tank of fish. That is all.”

  “Maxie? I told another lie. We do not have a class monkey. We — ”

  “I know,” said Maxie. “I figured it out. Tootie is really Hootie. And Hootie is the guinea pig. He is your class pet.” (I nodded.) “I — I also told another lie,” Maxie went on.

  “About your class cat?” I asked.

  “Yes. We do not have a cat in our class. A cat came to visit one day, but then he went home. We do not have a pet in our room. We have plants.”

  “Plants are nice,” I said. “I do not care whether you have a pet…. Hey, Maxie, do you like to roller-skate?”

  “Are you kidding? I love to roller-skate! I skate in the park. I am not very good, but I have fun.”

  “I like to skate, too! And I guess I am not very good, either. Once I fell and broke my wrist.”

  “Yikes. I have never broken a bone,” said Maxie.

  After lunch, Maxie and I went to the playground. We rode on the seesaw and we talked. Maxie had some ideas for more collections. I told Maxie that I like to play detective sometimes. Maxie said she would try that when she got home.

  “You know what?” I whispered to Maxie. “I still have my baby blanket.”

  “Me, too,” Maxie whispered back.

  “Also, I am only seven.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Soon recess was over. Then school was over. Miss Mandel and her class had to leave. Maxie and I had to say good-bye.

  We hugged. We both said, “I will miss you!” Then we both said, “I promise I will keep writing. Good-bye!”

  “Hey, Maxie!” I called. “I don’t really dress this way!”

  “I know you don’t. See you, Karen!”

  My pen pal went back to New York.

  Dear Maxie, Love Karen

  Dear Maxie,

  I am so glad you came to visit. I had lots of fun. Guess what. I found a bruise on my leg. I think it is from when we ran into each other in the gym. The bruise is shaped like a turtle. (Honest.) Did you get any bruises?

  I am still working on my shell collection. I might start a stationery collection next. I really like the erasers you sent, but I am not sure about collecting them. I hope you do not mind.

  Today we let Hootie out of his cage and he ran under Ms. Colman’s desk. I thought he would never come out!

  Love, Karen

  Dear Karen,

  I got a bruise, too, but it is very little. It does not look like anything except a bruise.

  I do not mind if you collect stationery instead of erasers. A stationery collection is a good idea. I might start one, too. Then we could trade stationery. If I do not start a stationery collection, I think I will start a stamp collection.

  That is so funny about Hootie!

  Today we had a fire drill. We are supposed to walk to the door. But Eli ran. And guess what. He tripped and fell in a wastebasket!

  Love, Maxie

  Dear Maxie,

  Today I wish I did not have two families. One family is easier. I do not always like being Karen Two-Two.

  Love, Karen

  Dear Karen Two-Two,

  Did you have a bad day? I did. And I do not even have two families. One of my sisters yelled at me. One of my brothers lost my new eraser. I got in a little trouble at school. Yuck.

  Love, Maxie One-One

  Dear Maxie,

  Sometimes I get in trouble, too. Try to remember to use your indoor voice.

  I wish I could visit you sometime.

  Love, Karen

  Dear Karen,

  I wish you could visit me, too. Or that I could visit you again. I miss you. But I am glad we write letters.

  Love, Maxie

  Dear Maxie,

  I MISS YOU, TOO!!!

  Love, Karen

  Dear Karen,

  Will you promise me something? Will you promise you will always be my pen pal? Please say yes. (You do not have to.)

  Love, Maxie

  Dear Maxie,

  I promise, promise, promise, I will always be your pen pal.

  Love, your pen pal, Karen

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1992 by Ann M. Martin

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, BABY-SITTERS LITTLE SISTER, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or
stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1992

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-05609-9